Planning slow taper - please advise.

I am planning a slow withdrawal from 3 mg Xanex. Unfortunately, I only have 3mg tablets and no way of getting any other size or any other benzo to substitute. I do however have a years supply at 3mg.

Due to current health scare, I am going to be doing it properly, following the Ashton method. But here is where I am getting confused.

Am I able to crush a tablet or tablets, then use maths to deduct 10% of what the tablet would have weighed? The maths part I fully understand, but I just want to clarify it is OK to crush the tablets in this way?

Hello, Bendy12!

The only 3 mg Xanax tablets I see online (here in the US) are extended release (XR). 

The instructions advise against crushing them. 

"Do not crush or chew extended-release tablets. Doing so can release all of the drug at once, increasing the risk of side effects. Also, do not split the tablets unless they have a score line and your doctor or pharmacist tells you to do so. Swallow the whole or split tablet without crushing or chewing." 

https://www.medicinenet.com/alprazolam_extended_release-oral/article.htm 

Be safe,

Koko Lee

Hello, Bendy12.

Am I correct that you are in the UK not the US?

Koko Lee has raised an extremely important point about the 3mg Xanax/alprazolam tablets available in the US.  According to the US FDA Orange Book, they are indeed extended release. My understanding is that crushing or splitting modified release tablets damages the release technology.  Per The Withdrawal Project, “This can lead to physical harm in part because the amount of active drug getting released into the bloodstream becomes unpredictable and potentially dangerous.”

Do you know if the 3mg tablets you have are extended or regular release?